


More than Words

by hey_malarkey



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Fluff, Incest, M/M, Post-Canon, Sea Grunkles, but they're working on it, emotionally stunted old men, old men being insecure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 11:05:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18260003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hey_malarkey/pseuds/hey_malarkey
Summary: Stan was an old pro at hiding his true feelings. For most of his life, that’s how he got by. And now, when he doesn’t have to hide them anymore, he finds that he still tucks away those thoughts and it’s almost impossible to tug them out. Stan can’t help but hide his mind and emotions away behind layers of gruffness and neutral grunts and non-committal answers.Which winds up driving both Ford and him into insecurity.





	More than Words

**Author's Note:**

> *don't like don't read don't leave a nasty comment, thanks!
> 
> -this is not a song fic, however I was greatly inspired by Jack Black and Jimmy Fallon singing "More than Words" so go look up that rendition bc it's superb

Stan was an old pro at hiding his true feelings. For most of his life, that’s how he got by. And now, when he doesn’t have to hide them anymore, he finds that he still tucks away those thoughts and it’s almost impossible to tug them out.

Sure, the kids could melt his defenses down, at times. But that was circumstantial and he has a weak spot for family. He always has.

But overall? Stan can’t help but hide his mind and emotions away behind layers of gruffness and neutral grunts and non-committal answers.

Which winds up driving both Ford and him into insecurity.

Ford leans over, grabbing Stan’s hand and threading their fingers together. Stan silently marveled at how their hands were still a perfect fit. How snug and warm and  _safe_  he felt as his hand- not small by any means- was completely encapsulated by Ford’s.

But he kept the wonder out of his eyes and Ford couldn’t see the soft smile he felt, and Stan said nothing. They held hands in silence but for the sound of the ocean surrounding them. Stan felt it was peaceful. Ford was unsure.

Stan felt Ford squeeze his hand briefly and looked down at where they were joined. When he looked up at Ford again he saw his brother had taken a step closer to him, bringing them face to face instead of side by side, hands still laced together. With Ford’s free hand he brought it up to cup Stan’s jaw, lightly brushing his cheek with his thumb.

Ford stared into his eyes and again Stan was struck with familiarity- they had the same eyes, after all- and love, and a slight fluttering in his chest. Ford seemed to be searching Stan’s eyes and Stan let him look. His own eyes dipped down to Ford’s lips and back up to his brother’s eyes, waiting for Ford to continue.

He’s not sure Ford found what he was looking for, but nevertheless Ford leaned into him, bringing their lips together for a soft kiss that soon began to deepen. Stan’s free hand he brought to Ford’s waist, hugging his brother closer. He tilted his head back and allowed Ford to lead their kiss, their contact, their connection.

Ford broke away first, and looked back into Stan’s eyes. He sighed and dropped his hand from Stan’s jaw to his shoulder. Stan was confused, and he squeezed Ford’s hand to get his attention.

“Are you okay, Ford?”

Ford laughed, a low sound that was more of a sigh than anything else. That confused Stan further, but he didn’t show it. He simply waited for Ford to speak. He waited as his brother looked off to the side, out over the waves for a little while before looking down at their joined hands and then back up to Stan.

“I don’t know how to keep going, Stan,” he admitted.

“Well, usually there’s kissing and then some rubbing and later a mattress involved–” Ford cut off Stan before he could finish.

“No, no, I don’t mean our physical actions, Stan. I just,” he paused, looking a little helpless, his eyebrows drawn together in concern, pulling the wrinkles of his brother’s face into relief, finally showing off that they’re the same age.

“I don’t know if you want this. If you want  _us_ … I can’t see it in you almost at all, Stanley. I don’t know if you’re just acting this way to make me happy or ensure I don’t leave or, or, I don’t know, for some other reason but,” he backed a step away, disentangling their hands and turning to the side to avoid Stan’s gaze. “But I don’t want this if it isn’t real, Stanley. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”

When Ford is upset, he tends to get colder, talk more detached, shoulders straight, arms hidden behind his back, false confidence and stolid scientist and all that junk. But right now his brother was none of those things. He was hunched in on himself, hands at his sides, voice wavering and all no-confidence but one strong conviction.

_He didn’t think Stan was being honest with him about this._

People think that because Stan is louder, a showman, that he’s more expressive than his quietly studious brother. But Ford’s always gone big or gone home with his emotions, whereas Stan has been twisting his deeper inside himself since long before he was kicked out. Back to when he was a kid, even.

They both took different routes to deal with their lives. Stan put up a dozen different fronts while he put a lock on his heart. Ford retreated into himself and pretended not to have emotions while still being ruled entirely by them, without him realizing.

Stan looked at the hunched figure of his brother and felt a lot of things. Concern. Sadness. Distance. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He knew Ford wouldn’t trust his words. Not at first, anyway. He was an old con man, he could make anything sound real, if he wanted.

Instead he let his shoulders drop. He straightened his back out of his slouch. He took a couple steps forward til he was in front of his brother again. He thought about everything he loved about his brother, about all the good times they’ve had since they reconciled. Every laugh and look and touch they’ve shared. Stan tilted Ford’s head up with both of his hands, just with the fingertips, making sure Ford was looking nowhere but him.

And more than any of that, he allowed himself to show what he was feeling. A sweet, shy grin on his face. His eyes sparkled with love and unshed tears and his cheeks were rosying and he brushed along Ford’s jaw and cheeks just as Ford had done to him before. He leaned towards his brother and pressed a soft kiss to his brother’s forehead before leaning so theirs were pressed together.

He brought both his hands down to seek the comfort and safety of Ford’s hands, intertwining their fingers once again. He breathed deeply in their shared space, joined together as they were, and just let them stand in silence as the boat rocked them gently.

“I love you, Stanford. Always have, always will. I love what we have now, between us. I love holding your hand and feeling like nothing bad can happen because it feels so safe and warm. I love kissing you because it feels like everything in the world melts away until the only thing I know is you. And that feeling is also warm, Ford.”

Stan heard soft exhales of surprise come from Ford at his open words. More than that, he felt when Ford lifted their joined hands and wiped the tears slowly making their way down their faces. It isn’t clear who they belong to, but in the moment they belong to both and not a word is spent on them. They keep their hands joined and up, the back of Stan’s hand resting against their cheeks, Ford gripping tightly.

Stan’s voice wavers as he continues, stepping even closer than before. “Ford, we’re different people. I don’t…I can’t always show what I’m feeling. I’ve been burned too many times in my life for showing what I felt.”

He heard Ford whisper a plaintive  _Stanley_  under his breath but he didn’t stop. This was too important to him.

“But I want you to know that for you, I’m willing to try. I want you to know that I want this. I want  _you_. It’s the most real thing in my life, Sixer. I love you.  _Please_ ,” he swallowed hard around that word, despite himself, “please don’t ever think differently.”

Stan waited, watching his brother react, watching Ford’s face change as he processed all of this.

Instead of words, Ford leaned in and kissed Stan again. A soft, but deep kiss. It was sweet. Ford broke it and looked into Stan’s eyes again, finally finding what he needed.

Ford let go of their raised hands and cupped the back of Stan’s head, fingers threaded through his hair, and brought Stan into a hug, Stan’s chin resting against Ford’s shoulder, his arm around Ford’s waist again.

“ _Thank you_ ,” he breathed into Stan’s ear. “Thank you, Stanley.”

And while Ford spoke the words of love Stan desperately needed to hear, Stanley showed Ford how much he loved him, opening himself up to Ford in a way that his brother desperately needed to see.

**Author's Note:**

> look who finally got an ao3!
> 
> if I've ever commented on your fic, it's been under "malarkey" before i got an account. 
> 
> I'm @hey-malarkey over on tumblr, so if you like what you see maybe come check out my blog where I post all my stuff first, or will have to take time to move over here. Sometimes I do requests and prompts, so hit me up! I won't bite haha
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos appreciated :finger_guns:


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